Traction-wheel.



J. LA DOW.

TRACTION WHEEL APPLICATION man JUNE 1, 1911.

Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

|NVENTOR ([032 n Lia flaw An'ToRNE WITNESSES 1. LA DOW.

. TRA-CHONWHEEL. APPLICATION men lpu 1. 1917.

31. -Q5$ Q56 Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR WITNESSES (9 b 2'2 7% L @flfl M7 ATTORN EY J. LA DOW.

- TRACTION WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1, 1917.

1553,56 Patented Jan. 8,1918.

3 SBEETSSHEET 3.

Specification of Eettezs Potent-e61 on :3 1918.

Apnhcation fileti use 1, 151?.- fierial Ito 17%,316.

53cm concern: 7

that i,- JOHN LA Dow, a citiv s, i11-tbe-countyof Les Angties anti o -l'jsii,for-nit; bcveinventettnew and vements in Trsction-iiheeis of is speeifiestion.

V K L seasons of the year. its contemplates novei one ing' and retracting saici ers, said means being; under e eontr A of its operator of the tractor or motor veiiicie in conjunction with which the tractor Wbeeis are enipioyed.

Asset object of tbeinvention is to con street the wheei as a WilOifiin suciimsnner it the parts thereof may be reatiiiyasnbieci-nmi disassociateai for repairs, givparts there-of which srcsubjeeteti to Wear.

Another object of the invention is to construet the hub of the tibeei in such nfianner that itserves as a container for lubricating root ailin which the main working parts of tie traction member operating mechafoisn" are mounted. I

Another and important. object or the in rentit 1 3 to protiuce a wheel which may be ier o traction WhEGi or as an ordicarrying WiiQt-Bi the tires and traction members being so disposed and related, that the Wbeei may run either upon tires of the solid o siaioibtypeor any other type with on members withdrawn so as not tact? with the roast surface, or said it in bers may be it ijeetec beyond of the tires to obtain the sited States. residing ot- Les rai e adopting the Wheel to be.

dinai section of tiie-same.

in' remi vetcessibiiitv to aii the workino' b o necessary tractionai Hold on the road surface or field Where the msch-ine is being used. nw r this brings the traction Wheel as a whole .u'itiiin. the requirements of the good road .9: t v 1 ows enacted. 2 11a being enacted 1n various sec ions of the country.

it'ith'the sbov and other objects in View,

ifill Cl 1EbiI1tZti0H and arrangement of parts, 51 in described, illustrated and'ciaimed.

the invention consists'in the novel construct Le accomp; tying cirawingsz A ignite l teal sectlonal View of a1 tract on wince}. embodying the present 1nvention in one of the preferred forms ,of. i

2 is s. ometri-cai section through the -me talren in line with the axle which is snown in elevation.

big. 3 is a fragmentary section on the line .3-3 of Fig. 2.

iqgp i 1s a plan vlew of a portion. of the W i'XBBi rim looking toward the outer face thereof'and showing the arrangement of the traction members.

Fig". 5 is at radio] section through a treetion Wheel embodying the present invention,

showing a. modified form thereof.

6 is a simiiajriview of a Wheel having a IDOt'ilhGCi form of run and a modified arrangement' Of'iTIHCtiOH members.

Fig. is'a fragmentarv vertical longitu- Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional iew similar to Fig. 7 showing another arrangement of traction members;

The hub of the traction wheel, in the preferred embodiment thereof, and as best illustrated in Fig. 2, is composed of two side or end [tub members 1 and a-central hub member 2 tightly held and fastened between the side members i. In the embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Fig 2, the central hub member 2 is formedwithcztn outwardly projecting tubular bearing extension or sleeve 3 which surrounds a bushing 4 around a reduced portion 5 of the axle 6 upon which the Wheel as e wholeis mounted.

Each of the outer bub members 1 ispreferabiy made in two sections Tzind 8 and which extend o'utwardly where they are fase.

along the lateral tened to one .of. he lateral annular sections 14 of a rim w 'eh'also comprises a central section 1.5 m'er'la'pping the outer sections 14 margins ;thereof Fastened in any suitable way-upon the lateral rim sections it are combined with I ti'reslti preferably of the cushion typesuch as solid rubb'erorrubber a suitable fabric. These tires 16' have 'a bearing against the shoulders 17 formed by the opposite lateral edges ofthe central section 15 of the rimas clearly shown in Fig. 2 and said tires project at their tread surface a considerable distance beyond the outer or peripheral face of the central or rim section 15, the advantage of which will presently appean' Secured to the axle 6 preferably by means of a removable key 18 is a master gear 19 shown of'the beveled type. said gear meshing with a circular series of pinions 20. There are' preferably four of such pinions and each of said pinions is mounted between the outer lllll 21 of the. central hub member 2 and an inner rim or series of lugs 22, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Each-of said pinions has a central internally.threaded bore through which is inserted one of a-correspondin'; series of feed screws 2-1 carrying at its outer end a cross head 25 which is'disposed laterally or which extends from one of the flanges 11. to the other flange 11 of the hub-members 1. The cross head.25icati e at the ends thereof rollers 26 which ride against the flanges 11 ward direction, it being obvious that as the pinions 20 are turned, the feed screws 24 and cross heads 25 will be moved-outwardly or inwardly in radial paths. 2-7 designates traction members which are pivotall'y connected at their-inner ends to each cross head 25. Under the embodiment of this part of the invention shown in Fig. 1, three of such traction members 27 cross head 25. Connected pivotally at 28 to one of the traction members 27 is another traction member 29, Pivotally connected to the other traction member 27 at 30 are two other traction members 31. At -their outer ends, all of the traction members pass slidinglythrough slots or openings 32 in the central rim section 15. There are four groups of traction members arrangedin accordance withand the traction members ofeach group are arranged in the relation to each other illustrated in Figs. '1, 2 and .4, it being noted that in Fig. 4 the openings 32 areotfset laterally and progressively other .words he outer ends of the traction members offeach ferential or longitudinal ali'nement with each other. This increases the breadth of s also slidable to enable the cross' head to work freely in an'outward or rn-- reduced portion 501? the axle. are connected to each the foregoing description sections 1"w'ill also throughout the series. In

group are out of circums the gripping action of the difierent groups The 'central hub member 2 maybe fastened to the side hub members 1 by screws,-

bolts Or other fastening means 33. In orderiigto support the free edge of 'the rim 21, one of the side hub members 1;. is provided on the inner face thereof with an annular ledge 34 asshown in Fig. 2 to which the rim 21 may befa'stened in any suitable-way.

34' represents an axle cap or nut to hold the. wheel ongjthe axle, and 36 designates-a hub rcap for excluding foreign matter from'the linside of the hub.

The means for actuating or projecting and retracting the-traction members, comprises a lever- 37 which may either be a foot lover or'- a hand lever. This lever is mount machine at asmted on the frame 38 of the able point and hasconnected theretova link rod 39 in turn connected to togglellinks 40. One of the toggle links fixed collar or support 41 on the axle'fi while the other toggle link is connected to a is connected tol' a slidable shifting c0llar,42-:movablelongi :1

lar 42 in ta 11 engages a n the axle 6. Bearing rollers 44 are interposed between the axle 6 and the adjacent side hu'b member-'1 and several of said rollers, preferably four in. number. are made of greater length than. the-others so tudinally of {he axle G.

as, to act as thrust pins, the inner extremities thereof cotiperating with anend thrust ball bearing 45 which abuts the master. gear 19 hereinabove just described, thrust into mesh to impart rotary motion to the latter for the purpose set forth. When the lever 37 is released, the gear 19 is thrust out" of enthe: master-gear 19 maybe 'gagement with the pin10ns'20 by means of a coiled expansion springafi encircling the By. providing the axle 6 with such reduced portion 5, the bushing may be removed and also the spring 4 6,and'key 18.. This gives i access to all the workingparts within the central hub member 2.

In some cases, where the traction wheel is to be 'usedin conjunction with lighter farm' machinery such for example as .orchard tractors, the lateral rim sections 14 may be omitted, the central rim section 15 beingre'tained, and the spokes 13' being connect ed. at their outer. ends thereto. The end hub tered as shown miFig. 5. The wheel illustrated in Fig. 5 embodies howt w'er-thesamci The shiftable cot-' thrust collar 43- described. .By the means with the pinions 20.50 as be correspondingly. al.-

mes es tions 1% overlapping the section 15*. In

such event a single tire 16 will be placed around the rim section 15 andbetween the shoulders formed by the inner edges ofthe lateral rim sections 14-. The central rim section well as the tire will-be formed with openings to receive and-admit of the pro ect1on and retraction of a series of traction-members i? (see Figs. 6 and '2'), said .flanges 11" are formed with radially ea tending rows or series of holes to receive the pins 49 and this enables the groups of traction members 47'to be moved outwardly and inwardly to provide any degree of projection thereof.

Under the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 8, the wheel has fixedly attached thereto radially extending socket members 51 each of which is of hollow formation and forms a guide for an individual traction member 52 which is formed with a longitudinal series of holes 53 to receive a fastening pin 54- which is insertible transversely through the socket member 51. This also provides for any degree of projection of the outer pointed extremities of the traction members 52.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing it will now be seen that I have produced a traction Wheel of sectional construction that may be assembled and disassembled in the field or on the road without specially skilled labor or serious loss of time, and furthermore one which may be repaired economically should breakage occur; also a traction wheel which Provides for long and efiicient.

lubrication of the working parts thereof which are protected from dirt, dust and other foreign matter in apractical manner. One of the chief merits of the invention resides invthe means for operating the trac tion members to obtain any desired projection thereof or a full and complete withdrawal of theouter extremities thereof so that the wheel maybe used not only for traction purposes but for tow ng, hauling and various other uses The' wheel conforms to traffic and police regulations and may be operated on any road without injury thereto as the outer extremit es'of the spikes may be retracted to a point where to employ the rim construction shown in they cannot possibly come in contact with the road surface. lVhen the traction mem- V ber operating mechanism is not in use, all

parts thereofincluding the gears are idle and not subjected to wear. Where no tires are placed around the rim, it is preferred 6 which enables the outer extremities of the traction members to'be retracted within the peripheral faces of the lateral rim sections. The traction elements are preferably formed of flat bars each given a quarter twist so that the inner ends there of may be more closely assembled where heads, traction members having their inner ends attached to said cross'heads andvtheir outer ends arranged in the openings of the rim, pinions having a threaded engagement with said feed screws, a master gear for simultaneously revolving all of said pinions, means for shifting said master gear into mesh with said pinions, means for throw ing said master gear out of mesh with the pinions, the means for throwing said master gear into mesh with the pinions comprising a thrust collar slidable on the wheel axle, manually operable means for sliding said thrust collar and thrust pins interposed between said thrust collar and master gear 7;:

and working through a part of the wheel hub. 2. In a traction wheel, a hub, a rim having openings therein, spokes connecting said hub and rim, aplurality of feed screws radially movable in relation to said hub and provided at their outer ends with cross heads, traction members having their inner,

ends attachedto. "said cross heads and their outer ends arranged in the openings of the rim, pinions having a threaded engagement with said feed screws, a master gear for simultaneously revolving all of said pinions,

means for shifting said master gear into mesh with said pinions, means for throwing said master gear out of mesh with the pinions, the means for throwing said master gear into mesh with the pinions comprising a thrust collar slidable' on the wheel axle, manually operable means for sliding said thrust collar, and thrust pins interposed between said thrust collar and master gear and working through a partof the wheel hub, said thrust pins'serving as antifriction roller bearings between the axle and hub.

' In a traction wheel, a hub, a rim having openings therein, spokes connecting'said hub and rim,, a plurality of feed screws radially movable in relation to said hub and provided at their outer ends with cross heads, traction members having their inner ends attached to said cross heads and their outer ends arrangedin the openings of the rim, pinions having a threaded engagement with said feed screws, a master gear for simultaneously revolving all of said pinions, said cross heads carrying rollers, and the hub embodying flanges against which said rollers travel. I

4. In a traction wheel, a hub, a rim havin openings therein, spokes Connecting said hu ,an'd rim, a lurality of feed screws radially movable 1n relatlon to said hub and rovi'ded at their outer ends with cross iieads, 'traction'members having their inner ends attached to-"said cross heads and their outer ends arranged in the openings of the rim, pinions having a threaded engagement with said feed screws, and a master gear for simultaneously revolving all of said pinions, each of said traction members being formed of a fiat metal bar given a quarter twistso as to dispose the inner end portions thereof in parallel and contactnal relation to each other where they are attached to the respective cross head. i

5. In a traction wheel, a hub, a rim having openings therein, spokes connecting said hub and rim, a plurality of feed screws radially movable in relation to said hub and provided attheir outer ends with cross heads, traction members having their inner ends attached to said cross headsand their outer ends arranged in the openings of the rim. pinions having a threaded engagement with said feed screws, and a master gear for sinniltaneously revolving all of said pinions, certain of said traction members being pivotally connected to certain other traction members between the inner and outer extremities of the latter.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN LA DOW. 

